Kimzey comfortable at No. 1

Four-time reigning world champion Sage Kimzey rides Picket Pro Rodeo’s Lonesome You for 91 points to take the bull riding lead at the San Angelo Stock Show and Rodeo. (RIC ANDERSEN PHOTO)

SAN ANGELO, Texas – Sage Kimzey didn’t need any more motivation, but he found it anyway.

Kimzey, the reigning four-time world champion bull rider from Strong City, Okla., was sidelined for more than a month after suffering a fractured pelvis. He returned Sunday afternoon with a vengeance, matching moves with Pickett Pro Rodeo’s Lonesome You for 91 points to take the first-round lead at the San Angelo Stock Show and Rodeo.

“Being away refreshed my outlook on the sport,” said Kimzey, who earned more than $1 million riding bulls in 2017, with $436,479 coming in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. “Nobody likes being away from something they love.

“When you are hurt, there are those little voices of doubt that come into your head. But to get on a bull that bucks really hard and ride it like the injury never happened, it did worlds for my morale and my attitude toward the sport of bull riding.”

Kimzey has been outspoken that his primary goal in rodeo is to surpass Don Gay with the most bull riding world championships in ProRodeo history. Gay, who rode in the 1970s and ’80s, has eight. Kimzey is already halfway there and just celebrated his 23rd birthday in December.

He spent five weeks on the injured list and is excited to be back in the game he loves. His ride Sunday guarantees his spot in Friday’s championship round, which will feature only the top 12 contestants in each event from the preliminary rounds.

“That bull had a really good trip today,” he said of Lonesome You. “I was really glad to have him. He definitely bucked hard. If you’re in the right spot, he’s the kind of bull that you can make a good ride on. He has a lot of up and down, so if you stub you’re toe, he’ll definitely make you pay for it.”

Now in just his fifth year, Kimzey has ridden 66 percent of his bulls. Compare that to other world champions, and it is a big number. Four-time champ J.W. Harris has a 52 percent riding percentage in his career, and PBR world champion J.B. Mauney is at 55 percent.

Wade Sundell rides Powder River Rodeo’s Morning Tea for 88.5 points to take the saddle bronc riding lead in San Angelo. (RIC ANDERSEN PHOTO)

Not only was his return to competition key, but so was finding success. He hasn’t always been at the top in this west Texas town.

“I’ve always done terrible here,” said Kimzey, who was one of four contestants to move into the lead Sunday – he was joined by barrel racer Tyra Kane, who has a two-run cumulative time of 30.41 seconds; tie-down roper Blane Cox, a two-run time of 15.7 seconds; and Wade Sundell, who scored 88.5 points on Powder River Rodeo’s Morning Tea. “I’ve been knocked out once and had ribs separated here. This gets the ball rolling. This is only the second bull I’ve been on since m injury, so it’s good to come out here and ride well.”

He will compete Tuesday-Thursday in San Antonio, then return to San Angelo for the championship night, where all the winners will be crowned for 2018.

“The short-go is where everybody wants to be,” he said. “This not only locks me into the short round, but it also gives me a really good shot to win San Angelo. That’s when all the chips will be in.

“All the bulls will be good. The rodeo’s always good because the contractor always has good bulls for us, and the people really get into the rodeo. It’s a lot different than most rodeos we go to. The people in San Angelo have a Western background, and they love the sport of rodeo.”

After five weeks on the shelf, Sage Kimzey has returned to the sport he loves, too.